


Fountain of Youth - Assisted Living

by Joir3C (orphan_account)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hospitalization, Hospitals, No Smut, OT13 - Freeform, OT7, References to Drugs, yoonmin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 12:40:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11760096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Joir3C
Summary: Known to residents as FoYAL. A place for disabled people ages 18-25 who need extra care to come stay when they don't have anyone to stay with them. Featuring Seventeen and BTS. Chan-centric.[DISCONTINUED]





	1. Chapter 1: FoYAL

As the car pulled in to the parking lot, Chan continued to ignore his mother. He refused to meet her eyes and kept his mouth closed. His face showed no expression as she got out of the driver's seat.

"Chan?"

She was trying to get his attention. He felt the presence of a second person by the passenger door as he kept his head forward, refusing to acknowledge them.

"Chan, sweetie, he's brought you a chair. We need to head inside before the car gets too hot."

Chan didn't even blink.

"Hey kid."

A new voice. Fairly high in pitch, yet authoritative and demanding attention.

"You need to get out of the car. If you won't consent I will pick you up and remove you from the car."

Chan turned his head at that. The man (boy?) Looked very small, but he was wearing a uniform and had a stern face. This was the first time since his injury that someone had used that tone with him. Everywhere he'd gone he'd been met with sympathy, yet this man (boy?) had just met him and had not wasted a second on pity.

The worker heaved a sigh as they met eyes.

"You ready?"

Chan still refused to speak, but he nodded his head as the worker lifted him out of his seat and set him in the wheelchair, placing a blanket in his lap.

"My name is Jihoon. I'm in charge of transportation here, so I drive the bus and I help out if there's any problems with crutches or wheelchairs. You'll be seeing a lot of me here."

Chan nodded again as he shifted in his seat. So the man (boy?) wasn't a complete icicle, he had some semblance of kindness behind that stern face.

"I'll wheel you in for the tour but after that you need to hype up a bit. This place is fast paced and you'll be wheeling yourself after today."

Chan nodded (he was starting to feel like a bobble head) and looked around a bit. His mother was walking back a bit, catching on to Chan's hostility towards her, and he was glad. He knew she loved him but he just couldn't understand why she would put him in this place. He was only 17, technically not even old enough to be in Fountain of Youth Assisted Living (affectionately called FoYAL like 'royal' by it's residents, he's been told), not even old enough for regular assisted living. He wasn't in his 60's, and he couldn't imagine how he was going to fit in here.

As he was wheeled through the automatic doors into the air conditioning, he realized how much he had been sweating on the ride from the car to the building. It was at least 90°F outside.

He had not been conscious for his mother's original visit and tour, so this would be his first time ever seeing the building. From the outside, he could tell it was a three story building with lots of windows. From the inside, it looked much bigger.

The lobby was similar to that of a hotel or a resort, with a concierge desk in the middle and an abundance of chairs, televisions, and what looked like massage rooms (?) to the sides. There was an elevator behind the desk, and he could see a set of stairs on the far left.

Jihoon wheeled him up to the desk, but didn't say anything. Chan's mother stepped forward and greeted the staff member.

"Hello, my son Chan is here to take a tour before we check him in, he is a new resident here."

The staff behind the desk had a RBF, but the corners of his mouth lifted as his 'customer service' face took over.

"My name is Wonwoo. If you would take a seat to my left here I will let the guide know that you are here."

His voice was as deep as Chan had thought it would be. His mother had not stopped talking about that voice when she first told Chan about this place.

Jihoon wheeled Chan over to a spot with a TV, and Chan's mother sat down on a chair nearby. It looked like she was still keeping her distance. Good. Chan was glad that Jihoon hadn't commented on his reluctance to acknowledge his mother. He wasn't ready to think about what she had done to him.

After a few minutes, they were approached by a real live giant in a uniform. He nodded at Jihoon, then turned to Chan.

"Hello. My name is Mingyu. I will be showing you around today! I'm in charge of information and guides here, so if you have any questions about this place feel free to ask me. Are you ready to begin?"

Chan decided immediately that this giant was definitely not like the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk. That was good, because otherwise Chan swore that he would have nightmares about golden eggs. He read way too many fairy tale books while he was in the children's ward at the hospital. They didn't have much else.

Chan nodded his head, and they took off. Chan was hurt, yet glad, when he saw his mother didn't follow.

"To your right, you see the rooms there? That's where we do physical therapy. When the doors are closed, it means someone's in there working with the therapist. Our in-house therapist is named Seungcheol. You'll meet him later this week to go over your recovery plan."

Chan saw that one of the doors was closed. He knew that the age limit for this place was 18-25. He wondered who was behind that door, in therapy? How old were they? Why were they here? He refused to break his vow of silence now, but maybe later he would ask about the residents here.

Mingyu lead the way into the elevator. Jihoon wheeled Chan in behind him. Mingyu pushed the button for the second floor. Chan thought wistfully of the days when he could just walk up the stairs to get to the second floor. He watched as Jihoon stepped forward and held his lanyard up to a scanner on the control panel.

"Jihoon here, as you probably know, is in charge of transportation. He not only drives the bus and works with wheelchair bound patients, he runs the elevators. This is a security measure to make sure that we know where the patients are at all times. If there's ever anything emergency or a fire, Jihoon here makes sure that all wheelchair bound patients get out of the building, as well."

By the time Mingyu finished talking, they had reached the second floor. Jihoon wheeled Chan out first, and Mingyu followed. They were in a hallway that stretched out in front of them as well as to the sides.

"This is the residents floor. Physical disabilities on the left, mental disabilities on the right. At least, that's the way most residents are sorted. We have a deaf patient here who stays on the right, though his deafness is physical. The common room is in the front. We won't visit your room until after you've checked in."

Mingyu lead the way to the common room. Straight forward, through double doors. There were only two people in the room, one in uniform and one in street clothes. Chan put them in the back of his mind and looked around the room first. There was a soft, comfy looking couch to the left with a flat screen television. There were several gaming systems set up there. To the right of the room there was a kitchenette and a dining table that appeared to seat 12. Directly in the front of the room, there was a pool table, foosball table, and ping pong table. The two people were at the foosball table.

As he watched, then man in uniform made a motion with his hands towards the resident, and the resident straightened and turned around. His smile was large, and he was waving frantically. Chan was taken aback, yet raised his hand hesitantly and waved back.

The man made hand motions in the air, and the staff member moved up next to him.

"This is Soonyoung, and I'm his interpreter, Hansol. He says it's nice to meet you."

Chan smiled a little bit, but still refused to speak up. Mingyu stepped forward and introduced him.

"This is Chan, our newest resident. He isn't quite comfortable yet, and hasn't finished the tour. You're the first resident he's met! Hopefully you'll get along well."

Hansol made hand motions in the air, and Soonyoung watched diligently. He broke out into a grin and shoved a hand forward toward Chan. Chan stared at it for a moment without moving.

"Go on, shake his hand. He won't move until you do."

Jihoon was talking now, the first time since the parking lot. Chan vaguely saw Hansol interpreting on the side, vaguely saw Soonyoung's eyes flick to the side as he 'listened', and vaguely registered Jihoon's words. After a moment, he raised his arm and placed his hand in Soonyoung's. Soonyoung's eyes squinted with the size of his smile as he shook Chan's hand. Soonyoung made more hand motions, and Chan kept his eyes on Soonyoung as Hansol spoke for him.

"I'm glad I was the first to meet you! I hope we get along well."

Chan nodded once, and averted his eyes. The blanket in his lap covered his shameful injury, but Chan still felt humiliation at his situation. 

He felt Jihoon tap on the wheelchair handles a couple of times, and Mingyu turned and made eye contact with him. Mingyu turned back to Hansol and Soonyoung and spoke.

"We'll finish the tour and give Chan a chance to settle in. Well see you around in a bit!"

Soonyoung and Hansol waved, and turned back to their game. Chan picked his eyes up off the floor and looked at Mingyu.

"As you can see, the common room has a lot of fun things to do! We provide meals, but you can also try your hand at cooking in the kitchenette if you'd like. Some of the residents enjoy cooking and even make food as a part of their therapy!"

As they walked (and wheeled) back to the elevator, Chan let his mind wander to what kind of disability required cooking as therapy? Not that it mattered, Chan hated cooking, though he enjoyed eating other people's food.

After going up to the third floor, Chan felt like he'd been transferred back to the hospital. The walls were white, there were rooms curtained off and there was the constant vibrating sound of medical equipment. 

"This is the medical side of things here. Our in-house doctor is named Jeonghan. We have a nurse here named Seungkwan as well. If you ever have a health problem or encounter any issues with your legs, we are prepared to treat you until we can transfer you to a hospital. If you have a condition that turns out to be fatal, we can accommodate you here and we even have a bedside chapel named Jisoo who can sit with you. Or he can just hang out with you regardless of your condition. He's here all the time."

Chan wasn't sure he wanted someone preaching at him every day, but he'd wait and see. He certainly had enough sins in his arsenal that he needed to be saved.

They went back down to the first floor after they finished the tour of the building, heading outside to look at the park/garden behind the building. They had a variety of balls for sports (not that Chan could do things like that anymore) and a garden with different plots. He saw names scribbled on some of the plots, showing that some residents already had those spaces claimed.

They went back inside and turned left. Towards the stairs. At first, Chan felt like he was going to cry, and then he felt terrified. Why were they heading towards the stairs when they KNEW he couldn't walk? But at the last minute, they turned away from the stairs towards a closed door. Jihoon went forward with his electornic ID card and unlocked the door. Mingyu stepped in and flipped the lights.

Chan's breath caught. For a minute, he forgot his situation and felt excitement rising withing him. It looked like a dance studio.

Three of the walls were mirrors, and there were bars lining one side of the wall. The floor was wooden, he could hear it creak as they moved inwards. In one corner, there was a sound system built in. It was small, but it was perfect.

"This is the dance studio. We know that while your situation might not be the best, dancing is listed as one of your passions on your resident application. Some patients use this room in their therapy, regardless of their situation. We believe that the dance room could be therapeutic for you."

Chan's excitement faded. He felt himself filling with rage. He'd started to like this place. He thought he might fit in here. He broke his vow of silence

"How am I possibly supposed to dance? Like this?" He threw the blanket off his legs. He didn't notice Jihoon bend down and pick it up. "I have no legs. They're gone. Even sitting up like this hurts. I will never dance again. And this is supposed to make me better?"

At this point his voice was raised and his tone was dangerous. He was waving his hands in the air to emphasize his point. His anger grew as he saw Mingyu didn't even look phased at his outburst.

"Do you have no answers? Do you have no shame? Is everyone like this here? I don't care what my mother says, I don't care what she signed, I won't stay here! Dance was my life, and you are just running it in that it's been taken away from me!"

He felt his wheelchair jerked around and he saw a sight that terrified him. Jihoon had a glare on his face, and he threw the blanket back down on Chan's lap.

"Did you not hear a word Mingyu said? He is showing you a room and telling you that the situation does not matter. There are prosthetics. There is choreography. There is physical therapy. You won't be in this chair forever. Your amputation came to the calf on one leg, you still have one knee. I don't care what your mindset is, Mingyu is not trying to humiliate you and you need to find a better way to get your feelings out than bash on him for something that isn't his fault."

Chan felt embarrassed. He knew better than to yell and wave his arms around when he was mad. The doctors at the hospital never repremanded him for it, but he knew better. He was beginning to realize that the people here wouldn't put up with any bullshit. He readjusted the blanket on his lap and mumbled out a "sorry." He remade his vow of silence.

"All is forgiven! I think it's about time to check in!"

Mingyu's smile hadn't left his face during the whole ordeal. His expression had softened, however, and Chan knew that isntead of a 'customer service' smile, this was now a real smile. They went back to the front desk.

Chan's mother was leaning on the counter, making googly eyes at Wonwoo, the RBF desk person. Chan couldn't tell, but he thought he saw a look of relief on Wonwoo's face as they walked up.

"Are you ready to check in?"

Chan nodded.


	2. Chapter 2: Fitting In

Chan received his own lanyard with an electronic ID attached and a wristband with a list of allergies and medical conditions on it. In bold letters, it read:

"DOUBLE AMPUTEE"

Chan winced every time he moved his left arm and felt the wristband slide up and down. He had the rest of today to settle in. Tomorrow would be his meetings with the doctors and therapists, and the next day would be his official introduction to the residents.

Chan's room was nice. He had a comfy bed, a soft chair and couch, a dresser for his clothes, a bookshelf/cabinet for his personal belongings, and a bathroom with a shower/bathtub combo, a toilet, and a sink. 

The humiliation he felt when he used the buzzer by his bed to call for help in the bathroom was minimal; he'd been using a bedpan for the last four weeks and he was more excited to use a real toilet than he was to get away from his mother.

The 'bedside assistant' was named Taehyung and he was a very kind person. He was very respectful while Chan was in the restroom. None of the doctors at the hospital had even turned away or shown any respect to Chan while he was using the bedpan, Taehyung was a nice change of pace.

Chan spent the day unpacking his things. His mother had his stuff dropped off in his room but had not bothered to stick around and help unpack. Chan refused to call for help again for something so trivial, so he was up until 11 pm trying to settle in. When he did finish get ready for bed that night, he stared at the bed in horror. How was he supposed to get into the bed? They hadn't gone over this yet! He did his best to get his chair close to the bed. They had kept the bed low for him, so he gracefully (lol) flopped himself over the arm of his wheelchair and landed face first on the end of the bed. He used his hands to drag himself to the front of the bed and did his best to maneuver the pillows into a comfortable position without losing his precious balance and falling on his face again. That night, he slept without dreams.

The next morning, an alarm clock (that he didn't know he had) went off at 8 am to wake him up for breakfast. He couldn't reach the alarm to turn it off, so he tried to roll himself back into his wheelchair. He missed, and landed on the floor. He groaned in pain, clutching his elbow (that he had landed directly on) and silently wimpered. He was glad he hadn't landed on his not-quite-recovered legs, or his face, but did he really have to land on his funny bone? It wasn't funny!

On the bright side, the buzzer by his bed was low enough down that he could call for help. Soon enough, Jihoon and Taehyung were in his room helping him back to his chair. Jihoon then explained to him that it was his job to help with transportation, even for something small like the distance from the chair to the bed. Taehyung spoke up next and informed him that a bedside assistant was best used helping assist someone to and from bed. Taehyung walked beside him as Jihoon wheeled him to the common room.

Chan hadn't been formally introduced to anyone yet, so he only recognized Soonyoung and Hansol at the table. Everyone looked up at him when Jihoon wheeled him in and pulled a chair out so that Chan could be close to the table.

"Eat up, your first appointment starts in ten." Turning to the other residents, Jihoon told them to save introduction for lunch.

Chan stuffed his face with some of the BEST eggs and bacon he'd ever had before Jihoon was wheeling him back to his first appointment.

"Didn't you say that after the first day I would be wheeling myself around?"

Jihoon grunted and looked away.

"Don't trust you to keep yourself in the chair."

Chan got the feeling that Jihoon was the tsundere type, and didn't say anything more. Taehyung was still with them.

When they got upstairs to the medical part of the building, Jihoon left but Taehyung stayed. Four people entered the room, each in scrubs. The introduced themselves one at a time.

"My name is Jeonghan, I'm the resident doctor here. I will be working with your surgeon to make sure you are continuing to heal, and I am also here if you get sick or have any other problems."

"I'm Seungkwan. I'm a nurse, and I'm a male, so I hope you don't have problems with that. I administer medication and keep track of your appointments. I help Jeonghan out a lot, so you'll see me around."

"My name is Seungcheol. I'm the physical therapist here. I'll be working with you in regards to prosthetics once you're healed completely and your rehab."

"And I'm Not. I'm a psychologist, and I help to make sure that you fit in well and help with any thoughts and feelings that accompany injuries as tramatic as yours. Feel free to come to me if you have any problems."

Chan was a bit overwhelmed at first. He'd had the same medical team at the hospital for four weeks, so a big change like this was a lot. He did feel their sincerity though, which was reassuring.

They went over his medical history, his family history, his current situation, and all the other stuff that he'd been through so many times at the hospital. Once they talked about his past and present, the ominous future came up.

Therapy and rehab we're a daunting task. Talking to Seungcheol and Namjoon was terrifying. He wanted to get better, but he wasn't sure if it was possible. He'd seen Dancing with the Stars, he had seen a double amputee dance before, but she still had both knees. Chan didn't think he'd ever dance again. He also didn't want his therapy sessions with Namjoon to bring to light any tension he had with his mother. That was something he'd rather just bury and forget.

During the appointment, Taehyung received all the instructions that he may need to assist Chan during his stay at FoYAL. He took notes in a notebook (where had that come from? He hadn't had it before) and payed close attention. He even took down Chan's schedule so that he could make sure Chan arrived to all his appointments on time.

By the time they finished, it was nearly lunchtime. Jihoon showed up right as the meeting finished, which was confusing because Chan was positive no one had called or buzzed him during the meeting. His timing was too good to be coincidental.

After wheeling him to lunch, Jihoon let him know that he was going to start wheeling himself for real this time. Chan pouted for a minute, then decided that food was more important to think about. He was a bit nervous; he hadn't been without Taehyung or Jihoon since he arrived, and he was scared to be on his own.

As it got closer to noon, when lunch would be served, people began showing up in the common room. Soonyoung and Hansol came up and greeted him, and Chan got to meet a few other patients before lunch started.

Junhui and Minghao were an odd pair. Both of them were from out of the country, and seemed to stick together as immigrant-buddies. Chan did his best to sneak a peek at their wristbands, but could only make out that Junhui had a chronic disease and Minghau had some disorder. They seemed normal, though, which was good. Chan didn't know what he would do if he met someone so sick he couldn't treat them normally.

Two more residents came for lunch, but didn't get a chance to introduce themselves before the chef- named Jin- came out with ham and cheese sandwiches, deviled eggs, and lemonade. Jin brought out more food, but Chan was only interested in the eggs. He loved eggs.

After lunch, though, he was informed by Taehyung that he had a physical therapy appointment and had to leave for it right away. Chan had wanted to meet the two other residents, but he would have to wait.

Physical therapy was torture. Seungcheol was so sure that Chan would be able to walk again, and soon, with prosthetics. He had Chan doing exercises for that remained of his leg muscles, as if Chan would use them again someday. Chan struggled with the workouts; he hadn't done much with his legs while he was recovering in the hospital, and he was noticing muscle atrophy.

After two hours of warm ups, massages, stretches, and exercises, Chan was ready to be done. Seungcheol just wanted him to ice his legs before he left. The ice was so cold, though, and lumpy and uncomfortable. Chan complained about it for about 30 seconds before Seungcheol turned on the TV and told him to stop making a fuss. Chan pouted again, but got sucked into the Jurrasic Park movie that was showing. Before he knew it, 20 minutes had gone by and it was time for him to leave. He checked which channel was playing Jurrasic Park, though, and when he finished wheeling himself to the elevator and the common room, he turned the TV on and finished the movie.

When the credits started rolling, he looked around and realized that the two residents from lunch were sitting on the couch watching the movie with him. After a moment, one of them cleared his throat and went to introduce himself.

He looked a lot older than 25, had a stony face, and little squinty eyes. He reminded Chan of Jihoon, but like 10 years older. Speaking of, how old was Jihoon? How old were any of the staff or residents? He hadn't asked any of them.

The resident spoke. "My name is Yoongi. This is Jimin. You're Chan, I'm assuming?"

Chan nodded. "How did you know?"

"We've heard a lot about you!"

So the last resident speaks. Jimin, with black hair and chubby cheeks, looked friendly, and had a sweet voice to match. He was wearing sunglasses (inside? Not cool) and had a hand on Yoongi's arm. A couple maybe?

"Oh," Chan said, not sure what to say next.

"So why are you in here?" Jimin asked.

"Can't you tell?" Chan spoke with a source tone, not wanting to say the words with his own mouth.

"Well, maybe if I could see, I'd be able too!" Jimin let out a friendly laugh. "I'm blind."

Chan's eyes widened. "Then how were you watching the movie?"

"I enjoy listening! And Yoongi here gives me little helpful hints as to what's going on."

Chan could almost hear the smiley face emoji in Jimin's voice as he spoke. He was entirely too happy to be in an assisted living facility.

"My hints aren't THAT helpful," Yoongi said. "Anyways, are you ready for therapy Jimin?"

They stood up, Jimin keeping his hand on Yoongi's arm, and Yoongi waved over his as they walked away. Jimin belatedly realized that he had never answered the question, and he didn't know what Yoongi was in for. He sighed, accepting the fact that it would take a while for him to settle in, both physically and mentally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I'll be having TONS of time to write since I had to quit my job because of my surgery so hopefully I'll continue to post a lot! If you enjoy my story please subscribe :) <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! This is a fix I'm writing inspired by my 90 year old grandmother is going into assisted living, and my own fear of an upcoming surgery and car accidents. Please comment and review, I really appreciate feedback! <3


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